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Minnesota taxpayers advised against using Turbo Tax to file

Minnesota taxpayers are advised not to file using Turbo Tax or other products made by Intuit until the company fixes a number of problems, said the state Department of Revenue on Friday.

With taxes due in just over a month, Assistant Commissioner Terri Steenblock said the state issued a strong warning saying "If Intuit fails to fix the problems, the department will stop processing returns filed using Intuit."

"It is very unusual and we're concerned enough about the issues that they're having and we want to make sure we get the word out to taxpayers and make sure they know what to do," Steenblock said.

She said TurboTax has issues with both its paper and electronic filing products. The Department of Revenue calls Intuit's problems "unacceptable" and advises people who have already filed taxes using Turbo Tax or another Intuit product to call the company.

"We're concerned enough about the issues because it could potentially jeopardize the accuracy of tax returns that are filed or delay refunds so we are advising taxpayers to not use their products at this time until the issues have been resolved," Steenblock said.

The company issued a statement saying it is aware of the problems with Minnesota state returns.

The statement read, in part: "The accuracy of Intuit's tax products is paramount to us and we take responsibility for correcting these issues. We are confident this will be resolved shortly. We are working closely with the Department of Revenue and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause those impacted."

An Intuit spokeswoman told the Associated Press the problems affect a part of the 2012 Minnesota income tax returns where taxpayers decide whether to donate $5 to a political party. She says this does not affect refund amounts or taxes owed. She says software updates have already been pushed out to try to fix the problem.